Tuesday, May 26, 2015

It's now time for Canada's first NDP national government

Now that Alberta, the traditional conservative
stronghold where oil and gas have reigned for decades, and Stephen Harper built
the base of his majority, has unceremoniously turned the conservatives out, and
the news echoes of hints of a national win for the federal New Democrats, watch
for the predictable and lamentable headlines as investors and theBay Street moguls ‘reposition’ their
investment accounts to prepare for the ‘socialist hordes’.

Rachel Notley and her crew of neophytes are setting
a new course for Alberta in circumstances bereft of the flood of tax revenues
once taken for granted by former premier Klein. Making do with less, while
providing the kind of integrity without puffery, is not new to New Democrats,
and with a history in provincial legislatures of delivering more balanced
budgets that any other political party, Premier Notley can only continue to
polish the national image of the NDP.

The national media, of course, are watching the
roll-out of the latest political ads from the three major parties in Ottawa, as
if they were the latest recordings of pop music stars, dissecting the content
for images, tone, and even for policy that will guide the upcoming campaign
prior to the October national election. With all three parties currently locked
in a 30% plus or minus tie, qualities like experience, likeability, trust and
occasionally even a glance toward the specific policy positions are shaping the
conversation among the talking heads on television.

We have had more than enough of the Harper
government’s pandering to the corporate sector. And while there are two
opposition parties vying for our votes, at least those of us determined to
throw the Harper gang out of office, the choice between the NDP and the
Liberals is not merely a choice between Mulcair and Trudeau....although many
would like to simplify it to that. Such a simplification, and reductionism
insults all voters and certainly both opposition parties.

On the ‘which man is more capable and experienced to
govern’ question, Mulcair wins hands down.

On the question of which party deserves to have a
“turn” at the humungus job of national governing, the NDP,

·having
proven itself in multiple provincial parliaments, and

·having
served a lengthy apprenticeship in Ottawa, and

·having given Canada some of the best policy
options in our history (the National Health Act, for example, a gift from the
Saskatchewan NDP government of then Premier Tommy Douglas, and

·having
been guided, since its inception by the course charted by lighthouses that point
toward a more equitable, more compassionate, more inclusive, more open and more
willing to actually listen and pay attention to the needs of the underbelly of
our society, a segment that has grown over the last decade

·and
offering a counter-balance to the traditional “corporate-supported” Liberals
both now and throughout its long and honourable history all the way back to
David Lewis and Ed Broadbent who railed against multinational corporations and
they excessive power and influence

·and
providing leadership on the environment, while still exploring the business of
our natural resource potential

·and
offering $15/day national day care

·and
restraining our military muscle in favour of humanitarian, compassionate
options and training and intelligence, rather than more bombs which are
stimulating recruitment for ISIS